Xray uncovers lost master's self portrait

[LadyStanley]

Hidden Van Gogh self-portrait discovered by X-ray

"Van Gogh often re-used canvases to save money. However, instead of painting over earlier works, he would turn the canvas around and work on the reverse," National Galleries of Scotland said.

news.yahoo.com

Wow

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[beowulf]

Actually pretty common at various times in history. Canvases were not cheap so painters would often reuse ones they were not happy with. Though his way of usually covering the "offending" painting and using the other side was not as common, most would just paint over the existing painting.